On a general note, processes of globalisation, deregulation and privatisation have been argued to weaken the nation state’s ability to govern. Upon closer examination, however, the state has been active in the processes of change that, it is argued, are challenging it. In fact, the state appears to have retained its capacity to govern (Pierre & Peters, 2000). Instead, it can be argued that rather than being reduced, the state uses other means of steering to formulate and implement policy (Jordan et al, 2005). This paper addresses one of the recent policy developments in Swedish general education (compulsory and upper secondary education) by exploring the reintroduction of direct national school inspections. When it comes to governance, the field of education has traditionally posed quite a challenge, and political steering has proven to be difficult (Rothstein, 1992). The system of steering education has undergone a radical transformation in Sweden, particularly during the 1990s. This development turned Sweden from having one of the most centrally regulated and framed education systems to having a system characterised by almost the total opposite (OECD, 2002). Yet, at the same time, other decisions have been made that, at least in part, seem to diverge from the path that the reforms of the 1990s had followed, as they appeared to increase the role of the state. After being swept off the agenda in the wake of the extensive decentralisation reforms in the 1990s, direct school inspections were reintroduced by the Swedish Government in 2003. Individual schools are now visited and inspected by the National Agency of Education on a six-year cycle. Even though the context in which the state now uses inspection as a means of educational control bears little resemblance to the strongly regulated and framed system of the past, Swedish policy makers put great confidence in the inspections as a means of steering. What are the arguments and motives underlying this turn? Indeed, we seem to be witnessing a somewhat paradoxical development: On the one hand, there are still obvious policy efforts to deregulate, decentralise and increase local school autonomy, on the other hand, the control function of the state is being reinforced (Rönnberg, 2007; Hudson & Rönnberg, 2007; Helgøy & Homme, 2006; Eurydice 2004; OECD, 1995). Varying kinds of external inspectorates are rather common through Europe, even though their tasks and methods differ considerably in the different education systems (European Commission, 2005). In the Nordic countries, inspections have tended to have municipalities as their basic unit. However, Sweden appears to be changing direction in this respect. The aim of the paper is to explore and analyse the political forces and arguments leading up to the reintroduction of Swedish national school inspections. The following questions will be addressed: What problems are intended to be resolved and in what context are the school inspections singled out as a solution? How are the inspections designed and organised? Is this diverging from or corresponding to the perception of the policy problem the inspection addresses? Theoretically, the paper draws on the literature on public policy analysis, primarily regarding formulation and initiation of policy. This includes both the circumstances leading up to the decision to reintroduce school inspection, as well as the policy makers’ representation of the policy problem that the inspections are directed towards (Bacchi, 1999; Vedung, 1997).

The empirical material consists of different types of official texts (government reports, bills, minutes, commission reports etc.), which are used in order to map and illuminate the considerations and deliberations that took place when the inspections were planned and decided upon.

To highlight the motives and arguments underlying the decision in question, and thereby facilitate a discussion on whether the reintroduced direct school inspections can be interpreted as a sign of the State re-emerging in the context of contemporary Swedish education policy.